Over the last few decades, the electronics industry has undergone a revolution by the use of semiconductor technology to fabricate small, highly integrated electronic devices. The most common semiconductor technology presently used is silicon-based. A large variety of semiconductor devices have been manufactured having various applications in numerous disciplines. One such silicon-based semiconductor device is a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor. The MOS transistor is used as one of the basic building blocks of most modem electronic circuits. Thus, such circuits realize improved performance and lower costs as the performance of the MOS transistor is increased and as the manufacturing costs are reduced.
A typical MOS semiconductor device generally includes a semiconductor substrate on which a gate electrode is disposed. The gate electrode, which acts as a conductor, receives an input signal to control operation of the device. Source and drain regions are typically formed in regions of the substrate adjacent to the gate electrodes by heavily doping the regions with a dopant material of a desired conductivity. The conductivity of the doped region depends on the type and concentration of the impurity used to dope the region. The typical MOS transistor is symmetrical, which means that the source and drain are interchangeable. Whether a region acts as a source or drain typically depends on the respective applied voltages and the type of device being made. The collective term source/drain region is used herein to generally describe an active region used for the formation of either a source or drain.
A channel region is formed in the semiconductor substrate beneath the gate electrode and between the source and drain regions. The channel is typically lightly-doped with a dopant material. The gate electrode is generally separated from the substrate by an insulating layer, typically an oxide layer such as SiO.sub.2. The insulating layer is provided to prevent current from flowing between the gate electrode and the source, drain or channel regions. In operation, a voltage is typically developed between the source and drain terminals. When an input voltage is applied to the gate electrode, a transverse electric field is set up in the channel region. By varying the transverse electric field, it is possible to modulate the conductance of the channel region between the source and drain regions. In this manner, an electric field is used to control the current flow through the channel region. This type of device is commonly referred to as a MOS field-effect-transistor (MOSFET).
MOS devices typically fall in one of two groups depending on the type of dopant materials used to form the source, drain and channel regions. The two groups are often referred to as n-channel and p-channel devices. The type of channel is identified based on the conductivity type of the channel which is developed under the transverse electric field. In an n-channel MOS (NMOS) device, for example, the conductivity of the channel under a transverse electric field is of the conductivity type associated with n-type impurities (e.g., arsenic or phosphorous). Conversely, the channel of a p-channel MOS (PMOS) device under the transverse electric field is associated with p-type impurities (e.g., boron).
A number of different techniques and fabrication processes may be used to form MOS devices. With reference to FIGS. 1A-1E, one typical MOS fabrication process is depicted to form semiconductor structures with source/drain structures having heavily-doped regions and adjacent lightly-doped regions commonly referred to as lightly-doped rain (LDD) regions. LDD structures are often used in the formation of semiconductor devices having short channels to prevent or reduce short-channel effects.
As depicted in FIG. 1A, a gate electrode 103 is formed on a substrate 101. An LDD region 115 is formed in the substrate 101 by implanting a relatively low dose of a dopant material 110 into the exposed areas, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. Following the LDD implant, a spacer layer 116 is formed and etched to form spacers 117 on sidewalls of the gate electrode 103, as illustrated in FIGS. 1C and 1D. The substrate 101 is again implanted with a heavy dose of dopant material 120 aligned with the spacers 117 to form heavily-doped regions 118, which together with the LDD regions 115, form LDD source/drain structures 119, as illustrated in FIG. 1E. Following formation of the LDD structures 119, further processing such as silicidation and interconnect formation is performed. A more detailed description of the elements and fabrication of source/drain structures may be found in S. Wolf, Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era, Vol. 2: Processing Integration, pp. 354-363.
Semiconductor devices, like the one described above, are used in large numbers to construct most modern electronic devices. In order to increase the capability of such electronic devices, it is necessary to integrate even larger numbers of such devices into a single silicon wafer. As the semiconductor devices are scaled down (i.e., made smaller) to form a larger number of devices on a given surface area, the structure of the devices and fabrication techniques used to make such devices must be altered.
The above described conventional techniques for forming MOS devices impose limitations on the minimum gate width and on the proper alignment of the independently-formed lightly-doped and heavily-doped regions of the source/drain structures. For example the minimum width of the gate electrode presently depends on the resolution of the photolithographic techniques employed. Thus, there is a need for new methods for forming narrower gate electrodes, including methods that are not limited by photolithographic resolution.
Moreover, as the size of semiconductor devices decreases, it becomes critical to ensure that structures, such as lightly-doped and heavily-doped regions in source/drain structures, are properly aligned with each other and with other structures of the device, such as the gate electrode. Thus, there is a need for methods of manufacture that provide accurate alignment of these structures.